Dinner with SpongeBob: A Reflection on Meals With Meaning and a Brief Interview with Tom Kenny
Written by: Abigail Race | April 5, 2026
Once a year, UW-Milwaukee celebrates its annual ‘Geek Week’. This series of over 20 unique events is put on by the UWM Student Involvement team, in collaboration with a wide variety of campus organizations like the Student Leadership Program, Campus Activity Board, and the team at the Student Union. Prowl Radio hosted a movie night for Geek Week this year with a screening of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World at the Union Cinema on Friday, March 6th. The most anticipated event of the week this year was a part of UWM’s Distinguished Lecture Series featuring voice actor Tom Kenny on Thursday, March 5th. Previous speakers of the series include the number two NBA all-time regular season scorer (or the pilot from Airplane!) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a Civil Rights leader, feminist activist, and author, Angela Davis, as well as scientific communicators such as Bill Nye and Hank Green.
Tom Kenny is one of the most prolific voice actors whose work has defined an entire generation. He has played several key roles on multiple major cartoons, such as the voice of Ice King (Simon) on Adventure Time, the Mayor of Townsville and the Narrator on The Powerpuff Girls, Heffer Wolfe in Rocko’s Modern Life, multiple roles on Rick and Morty, and an extensive list of other iconic characters. Kenny is most recognized for his longtime run as the titular character of the SpongeBob SquarePants franchise. Alongside SpongeBob himself, he also plays Patchy the Pirate, Gary the Snail, the French Narrator, and several other side and background characters. Not only is Kenny a voice acting legend, but he also serves as the current voice director for SpongeBob SquarePants.
The main event of the night was the Distinguished Lecture Series; however, I was lucky enough to have the privilege of attending a more exclusive event prior to the lecture. The Student Leadership Program and Student Involvement hosted a workshop called Meals With Meaning, where a group of around 20-30 people had the opportunity to share a meal and meaningful conversation at a round table session with Tom Kenny. We had about half an hour at the table with Tom, and a handful of attendees were able to personally ask him questions. I was fortunate enough to have a chance to speak during Meals with Meaning. I introduced myself as Abigail Race, a student DJ for Prowl Radio, our student-led radio station here on campus. My show is called Peanut Butter and Jams (live on prowlradio.com/listen Wednesdays at 10 A.M. CST), where I play predominantly jam bands. I showed Tom a poster I thrifted that featured ‘SpongeBob and the Jellyfish Jam Band’. Before I even got to my questions, Tom told me a fun jam band anecdote. Tom Kenny is from Syracuse, New York, a fact that he referenced many times throughout the night. The father of Jon Fishman, the drummer and a founding member of Phish, Dr. Leonard S. Fishman was Tom’s orthodontist back in Syracuse. “So there is jam band, 315 area code, bikini bottom, crossover,” Kenny said before prompting me to ask my questions.
I asked Tom what his personal top 3 favorite bands or music artists of all time are, as well as what he thinks SpongeBob’s top 3 favorite real-life bands would be. He responded that he and SpongeBob share brains, so their answers would probably be pretty similar. At the lecture event, he made an emphasis on the fact that some actors hold animosity towards the overlap of their characters and how the public perceives them; being recognized as one character, though he has never felt that way about SpongeBob. Kenny described himself as a big blues and soul guy. The first artist he named was Muddy Waters, “You know, Muddy Waters, the blues guy. My son is named McKinley after him. Muddy Waters’ real name is McKinley Morganfield, my 28-year-old is named McKinley. So that will tell you I’m a big blues guy.” He referenced James Brown as someone who ‘changed everything,’ with a brief mention of Sam Cooke. “I love so many artists that I’ve gotten to know that have been life-changing. Not all of them super famous, but, you know, Nick Lowe is a friend of mine. He’s, I think, one of our greatest songwriters,” Kenny said, wrapping up his list of “world-changing” musicians.
The SpongeBob actor said that he doesn’t watch much television or go to movies very often, but live music has always played a critical role in his life. He expressed his gratitude for all the opportunities he’s had to see seminal musicians who have since passed, as someone who started seeing shows from a young age, though he did not mention any artists in particular.
Tom Kenny recently formed a 12-piece band called Tom Kenny & The High Seas that performs music from iconic American artists, naming Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, The Shangri-Las, The Righteous Brothers, and Gary US Bonds, on the band’s website as a few examples. He closed out his response to me by explaining this experience, “Music is a big thing. I have a band and it’s kind of fun to just go out and do that and spread that music to others, like classic soul, and American music and stuff like that, that maybe the age group that comes to our shows is not super familiar with, because it’s just not out in the world that much, you know, but they love it when they hear it.” As a renowned voice actor who has played numerous monumentally important roles in children’s television, Kenny has such a strong influence on the younger generations. I am someone who grew up watching a lot of Spongebob Squarepants, but only became intimately familiar with classic American music in recent years. I think it’s so important for someone so prominent in the children’s entertainment industry to have such a passion for sharing music that’s foundational in much of our culture. From Tom’s responses, it is abundantly clear that he has such a deep and true love and appreciation for the blues and soul artists that paved the way for American popular music as we know it.
After the Meals With Meaning session concluded, we took a group photo with Tom. He was right next to me in the photo, and once we were finished, I asked him if I could get a recording of him saying our station slogan for Prowl, “You’re listening to Prowl Radio, your audio tour of the 414.” He was more than willing to do a recording for me, and even did multiple takes. The first take, he said ‘musical tour’ instead of ‘audio tour,’ and immediately after asked for clarification and then did a second take for me, without me saying anything, without hesitation. You can catch this official Tom Kenny, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Gary the Snail jingle live on Prowl Radio. When he was finished, I asked if it would be too much to ask to get a quick picture, and he responded, “never too much to ask,” and happily took a picture with me. After the picture, he started asking me questions about my show, like when it airs, how often I do it, if I make the playlists beforehand, if I only play jam bands, etc. I could not have asked for a better experience than I had getting the privilege to meet, speak with, and briefly interview someone as down-to-earth and engaging as Tom Kenny.
The lecture event ran mostly as a Q&A, with questions written on paper and dropped into a box prior to the show. My most notable takeaway from the Q&A was how regardless of the question, Tom always found a way to shine light onto others. Almost all of his responses involved some sort of affectionate nod towards someone else who is not himself. He spoke fondly of so many other artists, colleagues, and friends of his. Many times, he would talk about his family, especially his wife, actress Jill, who voices Karen. He mentioned the late Stephen Hillenburg many times throughout the night, expressing his love for him and this creation of his. Through all of his responses, you could feel his pure, genuine gratitude and joy for all that he has in life through his career, family, friends, and experiences. Tom Kenny truly radiates and embodies the empathetic and kind heart that makes SpongeBob who he is.
I had such an inconceivably awesome evening with Tom Kenny, and I am overwhelmingly appreciative of the opportunities that I had at Meals With Meaning and the Distinguished Lecture Series. I am so thankful to everyone who made these experiences possible for me and many others. You can see Tom Kenny again with his band Tom Kenny and the High Seas at Reggie’s on May 21st, only about an hour and a half from Milwaukee.